Posted by Angelika Davey on Saturday, January 21, 2012,
In :
a bit of fun
Actually, on this occasion, it isn't - It's in his handshake ;-)
German like to shake hands when they meet. If they meet friends or relatives they may hug or kiss, but if it's a business meeting or they meet an acquaintance then they shake hand. It is not uncommon to see a German arrive at a business meeting and shake hands with everybody present. Likewise when they leave.
So, how do you do the perfect handshake?
Well, I have searched high and low for you and have found the answer.
Posted by Angelika Davey on Wednesday, November 9, 2011,
In :
Life in Germany
22 years ago today, on the 9th November 1989, the Berlin Wall came down. You may remember the pictures of that day and the news when it happened, and if you can't remember it, google it and you'll find lots of pictures of that day. But how much do you know about the wall and how it was built?
Here is a fantastic animated video about the history of the Berlin Wall:
Were you aware of all this? Did you know how much was involved? I certainly didn't and I'm very grateful that the wall has gone.
Posted by Angelika Davey on Sunday, October 16, 2011,
In :
Life in Germany
Every day I get a variety of German newsletters in my email box and often they get deleted as there is nothing of interest to me. An article in one of today's emails, however, caught my attention:
Living underneath the motorway bridge
If you like, read the original article here 'Wohnen unter der Autobahnbrücke'. The article starts with 'Mr Gligorov is not at home...' and shows a picture of a mattress with bedding, a few rugs around the bed, chairs, flowers and other belongings, all unde...
Posted by Angelika Davey on Tuesday, August 30, 2011,
In :
Life in Germany
Mein erster Schultag
This is a picture of me on my first day at school with my brand new school bag (Schultasche) and my 'Schultüte' (roughly translated as school cone). My school bag had my first lot of exercise books, text books and a pencil case, but what was in the school cone?
All German children get a school cone on their first ever day at school. It is designed to make their start into school life a bit sweeter and inside they will find sweets and usually one or more toys (depending ...
It's great fun hiding and finding those lovely big chocolate Easter eggs on Easter Sunday, but in Germany we have the tradition of decorating hard boiled eggs. When I was a child my dad used to hide loads of decorated hard boiled eggs and a few chocolate eggs in the garden which we children then had to find. One year we could not find one of the chocolate eggs - I wonder if it's still there ;-)
Anyway, if you fancy having a go at decorating your own eggs, here are 10 very simple steps:
Are you a man travelling around Germany on Thursday? If you are - beware!
This Thursday is the beginning of the end of the carnival season in Germany. The German carnival season starts on the 11th of November at 11.11am. For most of the season (which is also called ‘the fifth season’ in Germany) it’s very low key, just the odd bit of entertainment and mainly preparation for the last few days before Lent. This year those last few days start on Thursday, 3rd March. The highlights are the p... Continue reading ...
Posted by Angelika Davey on Wednesday, February 23, 2011,
In :
Holidays in Germany
Fancy a cruise with a difference? The German cruise liner AIDA is building a new ship, the AIDAsol. The launching is on the 9th of April 2011 but the interesting bit about this ship is the brewery. Yes, it has a brewery on board! The beer will be brewed using saltwater but still in line with the German beer purity law.
So, if you fancy a different type of holiday - and you love beer - how about a cruise with a brewery.
Oh, and AIDA, if you get any booking because of my blog: I'd love a freebie ;... Continue reading ...
Posted by Angelika Davey on Wednesday, February 2, 2011,
In :
Life in Germany
When I took my driving test many years ago in Germany we had to be 18 before we could drive, but there have been changes in the last few years. Lower-Saxony started it seven years ago and since January 2011 is has become law in all of Germany: the possibility of driving at 17!
However, unlike in Britain, they cannot drive alone. Until they are 18 they must have another driver with them in the car. This driver has to be at least 30 years old and in possession of a clean driving licence for at ... Continue reading ...
Posted by Angelika Davey on Thursday, January 6, 2011,
In :
Life in Germany
When you're driving through Germany and you need to fill up with petrol, you may come across an aditional pump at the petrol station, as it is now possible to get a biofuel with 10 percent ethanol called Super E10. It is not available at every petrol station yet as it will take months to adjust pumps for it, but -
The question is, should you use it?
90% of cars can use it but there are cars which could get engine damage if you use E10. There is a list you can download here about the compatibili...
Posted by Angelika Davey on Sunday, December 5, 2010,
In :
Life in Germany
If you are driving to Germany this winter you will need winter tyres. As from Monday 29th November 2010 it is mandatory to use winter tyres (or snow & mud tyres) in Germany. Failure to do so can result in a instant fine of 40 Euros. If you cause a traffic disruption because your car has summer tyres, that fine increases to 80 Euros, and if you are involved in an accident and you haven't got winter tyres, you are in big trouble!
So, if you are driving to Germany this Christmas, please abide b...
Posted by Angelika Davey on Thursday, November 11, 2010,
In :
living abroad
All day today I have either read on blogs, heard on the radio, seen on TV or spoken to some of my students about Armistice Day and it made me realise that apart from my post about St Martin's Day there should be another blog today: about living with guilt.
You see, as a German living in England I always feel uneasy around this time of year. A lot of people don't understand why I feel like I do and it isn't that easy to explain. Why should I feel uneasy? Like eveybody else in England I am extrem... Continue reading ...
In many areas of Germany children will go out tonight with their lanterns and sing this song.
But why?
The 11 November is St Martin's Day (Martinstag). Martin was a Roman soldier who was always very kind and helpful. One legend tells the story of Martin meeting a beggar in a snowstorm. Martin cut his cloak in half and shared it with the beggar so that he wouldn't die of the cold. That night he dreamt of Jesus saying that Martin shared the cloak with him. For more information about St... Continue reading ...
Posted by Angelika Davey on Tuesday, November 2, 2010,
In :
Life in Germany
Luckily not literally!
You've heard these holiday stories: holiday makers go to the beach and find all good places have been taken by the Germans who got up early and put towels on favourite spaces in order to claim them ;-)
This habit has moved to university libraries. Students arrive early and leave their books on tables in order to claim them. They then disappear to lectures to return later. This hasn't been much of a problem so far but recently it has turned into a problem as more and more ... Continue reading ...
When I still lived in Germany there was no Halloween. The only time we heard about it was when we watched American horror films or any other American films which happened around Halloween.
I didn't really know anything about Halloween until I moved to England and the first children came knocking on my door calling "trick or treat!"
But things are changing, actually, I should say, have changed. During the late 1990s more and more newspaper article about Halloween appeared in Germany and since th... Continue reading ...
Posted by Angelika Davey on Wednesday, October 6, 2010,
In :
living abroad
1982, at the age of 23 I moved away from home and left Germany for a new life in England. My mum cried when I went and I also felt very sad. On the other hand I was far too excited to feel sad. Fast forward to 30 June 2009; that was the day I took my daughter to Heathrow airport because she too went abroad at the age of 23. Since then she worked a few months in Thailand and is currently working in New Zealand and so far there is no talk about coming home. Further fast forward to today; the day ... Continue reading ...
Posted by Angelika Davey on Sunday, October 3, 2010,
In :
living abroad
Thinking back to shortly after I moved to England, this was the time before satellite TV, although England just got Channel 4 and therefore had one more TV channel than Germany. Still, Saturday afternoons were awful. All you could watch was either Wrestling or Snooker or black & white war films (at least that's what it felt like). Those black & white films weren't just black & white instead of colour, the topics were also very black & white. All American or English soldiers were good and all... Continue reading ...
Nikki Pilkington's blogging ebook has been very helpful to me. Check out what other books you can buy from her by clicking on the '30 Day Blogging Challenge' book.
